Posted
by
Soulskillon Monday April 09, 2012 @02:31PM
from the clark-kent-can-play-angry-birds-while-he-changes dept.

An anonymous reader writes "New York City is planning an upgrade to its aging pay-phone infrastructure. A pilot program will next month install 32-inch touchscreens in 250 phone booths throughout the city. The screens will display "local neighborhood information, including lists of nearby restaurants, store sales in the area, traffic updates, landmark information and safety alerts — in multiple languages.' They will facilitate the 311 service, and also allow people to file complaints or request city information. The good news is that these screens won't cost the taxpayers anything. The bad news is that they will be supported by advertising. The plan is to eventually support Skype calls and email, and to integrate Wi-Fi hotspots."

Considering the high cost of 32" touch screens, and their almost non-existing serviceability (once you break it, it's gone), is this really such a good idea? It will probably just lead to stealing and breaking, especially during night time. The pay phones itself aren't that expensive, and consists of several parts that you can fix (and they are bulky). These touch screens are.

Besides, even if "tax payers don't need to pay for them and they will be supported by advertising", they will have to eat the costs initially. Advertising will just recoup the cost in the long run, IF it's successful project.

Considering the traditional meaning of 'hobo' was a transient male worker that moved across the country from low paying job to low paying job, there probably are a lot of them on/. but we just call them 'application consultants' now.

Judging by what I have seen in traditional phone booths, I don't think they will need to be able to access porn for that to be a problem. Usually phone booths I have tried to use have one or more of the following problems in order of likelihood: missing phone book, feces contamination, urine contamination, other bodily fluid contamination, missing/broken handset. Often, one could check the "all of the above" box. People have no respect in today's society.

A few one second bursts of a spray can by a Graffiti artist? and by-by screen. A determined person could deface all 250 screens in a few hours unless cameras are installed and even if that was the case that would only deter a few.

I lived in NYC until recently. In Manhattan, there are already big-screen TVs mounted to things like subway entrances - easily within reach of vandalism. So either vandalism and theft aren't a big deal, or the advertising is lucrative enough to pay for it.

That's easy to mitigate with a sacraficial layer of plexiglass over the front. Once it gets scratched and damaged enough, just replace it. This is what they do for posters and TV screens in the subway.

Apparently you did not RTFA. The city sold franchise rights to a company called City24x7, who will install and maintain the kiosks at its own expense. During the pilot program (250 units), the city gets 0% of the ad revenue. If the program is rolled out permanently, the city will get 36% of ad revenue.

This is government. The need for 250 will cause them to make an order for 30,000 displays to cover replacements and to cover defective ones which, for some reason, it accepts broken out of he box.

They will cost $3,000 each due to the extra chemically resistant screen that can handle vicious spraypaint removal sprays. Still, 1 of 3 will be broken by a worker trying to chip off the paint, the other two of three are already broken as I type this.

No sir. These days the subject only has to hold still long enough for them to say the word "Cheese" (though adding "eating surrender monkey" helps), within seconds a floppy flexible plastic card pops out all grey, with a white border, and as you sit still and watch the picture automagically appears out of the grey fog in the plastic. if you bend or touch it before the picture has appeared your subjects will appear mutated.

Obviously since they will use the touchscreen to display information they are trying to morph them into "information kiosks" which also provide a public payphone. Doesn't sound like an awful idea, especially in a city that attracts as many tourists as N.Y.

Personally, I think it'd be nice to have a usable landline available within reachable distance from my position in case there is interference (wireless, concussive, or otherwise) that prevents my cell phone from working when I actually need to use a phone, no matter the rarity of the occasion.

Your post reminds me of the Tennesee man who didn't pay his firefighter fees and was upset the firefighters didn't help his house from not burning down despite offering to pay for it no matter the cost.

It saddens me to live in such a society. Yes, that's right, I just said that some socialistic value was greater than the apparently capitalist value that allowed these public servants to let someone's house burn to the ground. Wow, I'm so un-American. Welfare.

The solution in such communities is volunteer firefighter departments. They were once the national norm. They don't work well in large cities but they work very well in suburban or rural communities were it is unlikely that you'll have overlap between different departments. The idea is very simple. The community either through donations or taxes sets up a non-profit. They either donate or tax what is needed to buy a building and fire truck. Then local membersof the community basically join a club. The fire

I'm not being funny but if the local government require everyone to pay $75 which funds the fire service (rather than just bundling it into local taxes as most places do) can you really complain if you didn't pay? When you say "Send a bill later" do you mean a bill for $75 or a bill of the actual cost of responding to and putting out a fire. That cost would certainly run to thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

I am sure that if anyone's life was at stake they would have saved them but protecting someon

I get what you're saying, but my expectation would be (given an 'optional' payment like in this case):Roll the trucks, put out the blaze.Later settle the accounts: You didn't pay the $75, so you were not "insured" as it were. Here is a bill for services, and no it can't be liquidated through Ch7/11/13 because like a tax debt, it is from the government. The bill gets first dibbs on your insurance payout. It would suck, but it seems more sensible.

That would be reasonable except I can't imagine any insurance company would cover someone in this situation.

Giving someone insurance against fire damage when they have chosen to forego paying for fire protection would be a hugely irresponsible act for an insurance company.

So in your hypothetical situation the fire service would be in the position of trying to charge someone, who is already facing extensive costs in repairing fire damage, thousands of dollars for their services.

walk into a store, restaurant, or hotel and ask nicely to use the phone with reversed charges or offer to pay for the privilege in cash. Most such places will be happy to offer you the phone for local calls at no charge. And most places will be flexible enough to work something out... just buy a muffin or something.

We don't need to put phone booths all over the place. They're not even putting them in bars anymore. Think about that. there was a time when a corner of every bar had a couple coin op public phon

They go by a different name in the NYC area. We call them "public restrooms" or "Port-a-Johns" more popularly.

The major problem with this plan is that the kiosk touchscreens will probably be turned on 24/7, cycling through pictures, ads, etc. How are the homeless people who inevitably take up residence in these booths going to be able to sleep if the screen is constantly running?

Luddites, or misers. I still can't find a cell phone plan that's cheaper than my land line. Given that I've lived 30 years without the need for a cell phone, I don't see the point in taking on extra expenses for no real benefit.

What a wonderful idea - they should have done this 20 years ago!!! In as much as the technology to do anything these are planned to do is in 75% or so of the cellphone using public, who would have been the ones interested enough to use them back then. What will they think of next? Lamp, mounted right on the fenders of the carriages so we can see to drive them at night???

There's an easy way to tell the difference: Hipsters are the ones in black trench coats, shaved bald (or whatever is hip, now it appears to be bald) with a bluetooth receiver in ear (that may not even work, as it's primarily for show) ordering an unnecessarily complicated drink, insisting that they check "in the back" for those breakfast wraps they're out of, (completely failing to hear that there is no "back") and wandering over to the barista for additional unending instructio

This sorry endeaviour reeks of political pork-barrell projects and I don't believe that this will cost the tax-payers nothing. Do you really think ad revenue will be enough to provide for the mamouth operating and maintenance costs? It will just be a matter of time before the tax payer needs to get involved. All all of this is to exactly what point? Tear out the phone booths that are really an urban blight. Just about everyone has cell phones and the number of consumers with tablets are growing constan

This sorry endeaviour reeks of political pork-barrell projects and I don't believe that this will cost the tax-payers nothing. Do you really think ad revenue will be enough to provide for the mamouth operating and maintenance costs?

TFA claims

Between coins and advertising, pay phones currently earn the city about $18 million annually,

Just about everyone has cell phones and the number of consumers with tablets are growing constantly. Why not take that money and build out WiFi hotspots? Why would I use one of these "phone booths" when I have my own equipment?

Nonono wait, the government is providing free buggy whips! "Well, at least we can satisfy our S&M fantasies..." (Currently I'm listening to The Wall, and the lyric just before I hit submit: "we don't need no education.")

The screens will display "local neighborhood information, including lists of nearby restaurants, store sales in the area, traffic updates, landmark information and safety alerts — in multiple languages.'...The plan is to eventually support Skype calls and email, and to integrate Wi-Fi hotspots.

These are street-level digital billboards. There's nothing here to suggest that outbound calls can or ever will be made. (Anyone want to defend "eventually"?)

They're adding them to the subway system too, albeit in a slight variant. Regarding the fine art of RTFAing, though... I really want to know how xxxJonBoyxxx was able to quote a line mentioning upcoming Skype support and then claim they were just billboards.:\

And the futuristic screens could eventually replace all of the city’s 12,800 outdoor pay phones...

Those two sentences seem to imply they will be replacing phones. But perhaps I misread them.
As far as eventually, I assume "eventually" will be as soon as they can prove they'll make more than the $18 million a year they are making now.

There are tons of phone booths left in NYC. I can't remember the last time I saw someone use one to make a phone call*. I think all of the revenue comes from advertising posters mounted on the sides. The fact that there's a phone in there is just an excuse for building the ad space.

Wow, that's crazy. I haven't been to New York for years, but here in Kansas City, there haven't been any phone booths for years. I saw one a few months ago that was kind of half up at a gas station on my way to Saint Louis. I thought it was interesting enough to take a closer look. When I got closer, I noticed that there was in fact a phone in it. But someone had cut off the receiver. Probably years ago.

"So I'm driving along and I wonder what traffic is like. So I hop out of my car and check the phone booth. The first thing I see is that some asshole jumped out of his car right on this street and traffic is slowed down. Fortunately, I'm past it.

Oh wait. It just cleared up. Hey! Where's my car?!"

Now I know they're reaching. Why in the world would I want traffic updates in a phone booth?!

So, they're going to do this for all six pay phones in New York City? I should clarify to mean working pay phones. The subways are full of the derelict hulks of formerly working pay phones. Across the five boroughs, pay phones--especially working ones--are as scarce as hen's teeth. Actual step-inside phone booths are even less abundant.